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Post by Franklin1 on Aug 24, 2009 22:47:35 GMT 10
G'day All, We have very limited information over in the Franklin DHL thread about Franklin fibreglass vans. From what we know so far, it seems Franklin mucked around with making a fibreglass van in 1966, but then the moulds were taken over by somebody else (or so we've been led to believe). And so here's another bit of confusion in the whole story... This van was listed on ebay, but the auction was stopped because the van has now been sold. It was listed as a 1969 14ft Franklin Caravan...   What's confusing is that the Franklin sticker in the first couple of photos appears to be the one used in 1972 and 1973. I've blown up a part of the photo to try and see the sticker more clearly. To me, it looks rather like the 1972 Franklin Regent sticker that I've shown in the second group of photos. The sticker on the fibreglass van is definitely not the Franklin sticker that was used from the mid-1960s up until mid-1970 (ie. the one with the dove on the left hand side). Where's hughdeani?? What does he know about the history of the Franklin fibreglass van? cheers, Al. (...and no, it wasn't me that bought it  ...I discovered it too late!!  ) |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2009 13:41:12 GMT 10
Hi Al,
looks to me like a Kennedy with a Franklin sticker on it!I have a cupboard of old caravan stickers that I could put on any van!The Franklin fibreglass that I always refered to is the Regent model,but I believe this shape was before the Regent.Wonder what the rego papers say? Although there was a time when you could write anything on rego papers which sends question marks off all over the place!
Cheers
hughdeani
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Post by atouchofglass on Aug 25, 2009 16:24:28 GMT 10
And it appears that - that is where Mr Kennedy comes in
Would be interesting to see how or if the van was moulded in two pieces
Speaking to a couple of Sunliner owners recently
They said the Sunliners were joined down the middle length ways roof was strengthened with a steel strapping
Can't see too many making these in one piece....
Though it would be a good idea if they did
This van looks in good order
Cheers
Atouchofglass
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dorian
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Sundown
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Post by dorian on Aug 25, 2009 19:40:38 GMT 10
Fascinating van..
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Post by willyn on Aug 25, 2009 20:16:00 GMT 10
 Hi guys I bought my Kennedy from a lady in the blue mountains who had the history of Mr Kennedy and his vans apparently a few different companys sold them under their own brand namd tuckys Kennedy was registered as a franklin which is the same model as the one in these photos mine was around 1970 with the later shaped window more upright than the earlier models the early ones had a bigger front window over hang and the windows were slanted and the later modern grained panelling tuckys was an earlier model than mine I believe   the next two are tuckys with slanted windows   Tucky has probably got more history Regards Will
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Post by Franklin1 on Aug 25, 2009 21:12:44 GMT 10
The two features that stand out for me as being "typical" of Franklin vans generally from that era are the wheel arch shape, and the little shelf above the sink...  The Kennedy vans I have photos of seem to have a more rounded wheel arch. I don't have any photos of Kennedy innards, so I don't know whether they copied the little shelf in as well. cheers, Al. Hey hughdeani, you don't have a 1956 Franklin sticker in your cupboard, do ya??  |
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Post by tucky29 on Aug 25, 2009 21:40:24 GMT 10
hi guys,
my franklin van was licenced as a 1964 franklin.it has the same guard shape under the spats and the same brand gas stove but no shelf over the sink. my van was originally set up with two single beds.my van also
had the two power cords that plug into the front of the van.
tucky
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2009 21:59:51 GMT 10
Sorry Al,no such luck!!
hughdeani
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Post by boblor on Aug 26, 2009 22:16:39 GMT 10
Hi VVers
The vans shown above are all pre '70-.71 models. My records show that Franklin started manufacture and called it 14' fibreglass, and for whatever reason it was continued by Kennedy. We photographed a clearly marked Kennedy on our travel in outback Q,ld last week.
Will review our records when we get back home in a few months time, and make further comments here.
Cheers boblor
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Post by sportsman 1 on Aug 27, 2009 8:36:02 GMT 10
We located a Franklin fibreglass van at Blairgowrie earlier this year. It was for sale and I posted details of it in the For Sale section. Dont know if it has been sold. Here are some photos.        Note the Franklin badge is on the left hand side of the van just in front of the door. Also it has the little shelf in the kitchen. Danny, the owner seemed to know a fair bit about them. Over to you Al, does this give you answers or questions  Cheers, Leigh |
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Post by sportsman 1 on Aug 28, 2009 13:06:52 GMT 10
Photos now posted on yesterdays reply
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Post by Franklin1 on Aug 28, 2009 21:10:20 GMT 10
Hi Leigh, thanks for the photos! ;D We are now starting to collect more examples of genuine Franklin fibreglass vans, so that's a good thing for any Franklin 'tragics'. [...not me!  ...or maybe there's only me!  ] The van you've posted looks to be in very good condition, eh? A real credit to whoever did the restoration, I reckon.  I went searching for the thread about it being for sale earlier this year, but couldn't find anything. Do you have the link? One thing I found very interesting about the photos you've posted is the Franklin badge. I'd only ever seen one of this type before, and that was on earlee's 1964 Franklin...  So it would appear that this style of Franklin badge was used during the 1964 to 1966 period, or thereabouts. I've added your photos to my collection, and I'll put a couple of them into the DHL section. [Edit] Just re-reading through this thread and I see tucky said his fibreglass van was registered as a 1964 Franklin. Maybe the photos Leigh has posted are also of a 1964 Franklin, which would make the badge line up with earlee's van. Which means that maybe Franklin were making the fibreglass vans earlier than I thought. Yeah...thanks Leigh ...more questions raised! cheers, Al. |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 28, 2009 23:41:22 GMT 10
G'day Al and others involved in this discussion. At some stage when things are a bit more sorted about the fibreglass Franklin vans, it might be worth collecting some of the photos and info on this thread and recording it on the Fibreglass Franklin thread in the Down History Lane section. There are no photos there, although there is some valuable info about Franklin's fibreglass efforts and the famous Mr Kennedy. Alternatively perhaps we need to start a new DHL thread combining bits of both?? Just a suggestion! Don Ricardo |
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